The three day seminar ran over three days and the timetable included:
A full day of FinishLynx system explanation, and classroom training
A ½ day of practical training at the Centro Deportivo Olimpico Mexicano
A further ½ day of advanced system configuration and operation
An athletics competion at the Centro Deportivo Olimpico Mexicano that was 100% timed by the participants.
Lynx provided two instructors, one Spanish speaking, and one from the Lynx Headquarters in the USAto present the information at the seminar. The FMAA organized the seminar, arranged accomodation for the instructors and the participants, and secured the cooperation of the Centro Deportivo Olimpico Mexicano in the project. The 24 particpants came from all parts of Mexico for the seminar.
Participants brought their cameras to learn how to get the maximum from them
We’re lucky to have such a large and diverse network of resellers and service providers supporting our brand. These partners serve as our most trusted ambassadors—bringing FinishLynx technology to new markets and providing timing and event services for almost any sport with a finish line. Anyone timing an event with a FinishLynx system serves as an extension of our brand. It doesn’t matter if it’s a local track & field meet or the Kentucky Derby. When there’s a Lynx camera aimed at the finish line, athletes and fans have come to expect the highest standard of photo-finish results.
Using the FinishLynx Logo on Websites & Event Banners
We’ve had many service providers ask if they’re allowed to hang Lynx banners at their events. Absolutely! We’re grateful for any logos or website links you want to provide on our behalf. The publicity helps promote our technology and expand our global network. In fact, here a few lynx logos you’re free to use. Click each image to open the full-size logo in a new browser tab.
The purple in the Lynx logo can be replicated with the following color codes:
Hex:
#55009C
RGB:
85, 0, 156
Pantone:
PMS 2685 or 267 are close matches
Lynx Logo Fonts
The font for the Lynx logo text is Eras Demi ITC, which is included in the Windows OS. If the font is installed on your OS, it should appear below:
LYNX
Capitalize & Combine All Lynx-based Product Names
All Lynx-named products are proper nouns and should be capitalized accordingly. Be sure to capitalize both the first letter of the word and the L in Lynx. For instance, it should be written as FinishLynx (rather than Finishlynx). All Lynx-named products should also be combined into a single compound, and without a space, dash, or hyphen. It should be written as FinishLynx (instead of Finish lynx or Finish-lynx). See the table below for more examples:
Correct Usage
Incorrect Usage
FinishLynx
not: finishlynx, finish-lynx, finish lynx,
LynxPad
not: lynxpad, lynx-pad, lynx pad
EtherLynx
not: Ether-Lynx,
ReacTime
not: reactime, react-time
IdentiLynx
not: identiLynx, ID-Lynx, Identilynx
ResulTV
not: Result TV, Resultv, result-tv
FieldLynx
you get the picture…
These style guidelines will help to make the FinishLynx brand a little bit clearer and memorable for new users. They’ll also help to ensure that Lynx products and services are consistently-named across all sports, regions, and languages.
Here at the Lynx headquarters, we’re a little obsessed with finish line images. It’s our job. We think great photo-finish images really are a thing of beauty. Doesn’t matter if it’s a dead heat at the Track & Field Olympic Trials, or a horse winning $6M at the Dubai World Cup—we love them all. Maybe it’s the moment itself, the motion-distorted body parts, or the way each pixel is stacked together to create an image. We’ve always believed each FinishLynx image is a little piece of art. And apparently there are others who agree. Here are a few examples of how our photo-finish images have been immortalized as art.
Sports Illustrated Photography
Sports Illustrated magazine has printed several FinishLynx images over the years. It’s no surprise the sports publication loves Lynx images. The rapid frame-rate camera of Lynx cameras (2,000 – 10,000 frames per second) lends itself to producing beautiful high-resolution photos ready for print. And of course, the images capture the most important moment of every race: the finish. This FinishLynx image was captured by SI photographer Heinz Kluetmeier at the USA Diving Grand Prix. See additional images here.
USA Diving Grand Prix. Courtesy of Heinz Kluetmeier, Sports Illustrated
Student Paintings
We came across this artwork on Instagram thanks to the #photofinish hashtag. User @Nienna4 painted these images as part of a project at the Sydney College of the Arts in Australia. No surprise, she is a runner. We love how she added the photo-finish distortion to the feet. Nicely done.
Photo finish paintings by an art student in Sydney, AU. Credit to Instagram user @Nienna4
It evokes the spirit of competition and split-second excitement of the modern ‘Games’. Two athletes reach for the line in a photo finish. The freeze frame reveals the winner at the speed of light, depicted by a rainbow spectrum of light across the bottom.
Stained glass panel created by UK artist Neil McCain. Originally on display at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea, UK.
Have you seen some other photofinish-inspired artwork out in the wild? Share it on our Facebook page.
A new version of FinishLynx has been released and is now available for download. FinishLynx version 8.23 contains a number of updates, including support for the new IdentiLynx PRO XS & XR video cameras. FinishLynx 8.23 is free for all Lynx customers and we recommend you update your software in order to take advantage of new features and bug fixes. A full list of features can be found in the software release notes below.
Capturing crystal-clear photo finish images can be especially challenging during low-light situations (e.g., night-time events or dim indoor lighting). Because the EtherLynx 2000+ and Fusion cameras are equipped with very light-sensitive image sensors, most Lynx users will never have issues with low-light conditions. The FinishLynx software also has built-in controls for adjusting the brightness, contrast, gamma, gain, and Phased Light Compensation. But adding artificial lighting to your finish line can also be a great way to enhance the clarity and contrast of your finish line images in low-light settings.
Flood lights and halogen lamps are both viable finish line lighting options. Lynx service provider Rob Whitacre from GC Racing has found an especially elegant solution for capturing low-light cycling events: an ellipsoidal spotlight. According to Rob:
A tool that has helped me a lot for low light situations is a theatrical ellipsoidal spotlight. Since I do many evening events at our velodrome and road cycling events at night the ellipsoidal light has been a very good tool. I used a Source 4 ellipsoidal made by ETC. What is nice with the ellipsoidal is it has shutters so you can create shapes with the light as opposed to a massive spot. I make a rectangle with the light focused only on the finish line.
The ellipsoidal spotlight allows for light to be focused across the entire length of the finish line. This produces image captures that are more uniform and evenly lit. Unlike stadium lighting, which can strobe 50-60 cycles per second and distort images, the ellipsoidal spotlight has a frequency that prevents any such distortion. See the image below for a real FinishLynx capture taken with the spotlight in use.
Low-light FinishLynx image captured while using an ellipsoidal spotlight.
Have your own lighting tips and tricks? Share them in the comments or on our Facebook Fan Page.
We love testing hardware at our Headquarters in Haverhill. It gives all the employees a chance to have some hands-on time with the technology. Last Friday, we decided to have a little fun with the demo. So we setup the FinishLynx Triad (Photo-Finish + RFID + IdentiLynx Video) and attached RFID chips to a few very fast remote-control cars.
The afternoon demo gave everyone a chance to capture and evaluate races using FinishLynx. It was also a great opportunity to show off the integration of RFID tracking technology inside the software. People came for the pizza and stayed for the remote control car crashes. See below to view some images and watch the demo video:
For the ninth year in a row, we are holding a Summer Promotion for all our U.S. customers. We’re offering substantial incentives to those who upgrade their FinishLynx systems during the summer months. With U.S. high schools and colleges closed for summer vacation, things are much quieter here at our office in Haverhill. That means our support team and technicians have more time to spend on testing, upgrading, and recertifying FinishLynx cameras to make sure they’re working flawlessly for your next event. This year, the four promotions include:
Camera Upgrades
Extended Warranties
IdentiLynx Packages
Scholastic to Bronze Upgrades
Have you considered adding one of our popular camera upgrades like Color, Timing, High-Resolution, or FLEX? Have you been looking to buy an IdentiLynx head-on video camera? Or maybe the warranty on your EtherLynx camera has expired and you’d like to add a couple more years of protection? No problem. Now is the time to make your upgrades. Because when you purchase one of the applicable upgrades this summer, you’ll also receive a free bonus, like free Camera Service & Recertification or Free Standard Shipping.
The 2013 U.S. Summer Promotion runs from June 1 until August 31. Contact our Domestic Sales team to request the current status of your system, cameras, or warranties. See below for additional details on the promotion options available.
Manchester, England – On Saturday, May 25th, Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix won the 150m sprint at the Great City Games. Her time of 16.36 also set a new world record for the event. The competitors ran the 150m event on a straight track surface laid down on Deansgate, a major road in Manchester’s city centre.
Felix has admitted that she loves running outside the typical stadium environment. Her world record performance at the Great City Games on Saturday will only further reinforce that preference. While there had been some headwinds at the outdoor venue throughout the day, Felix’s 16.36 WR was recorded with a small tailwind of (+0.2 m/s). (more…)
The Confederação Brasileira de Atletismo Times Usain Bolt on Copacabana Beach.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – On Sunday March 31, the timing team affiliated with the Confederação Brasileira de Atletismo went to the famous Copacabana beach for a unique event. With an EtherLynx PRO as the primary timing camera, an EtherLynx Fusion for reverse angle images, ReacTime (mounted without the speaker units as audio was sent through the Public Address system), a Lynx electronic starting system, and multiple Microgate photocells, this event may have been taking place on a beach famous for its parties, but the technology in use was definitely serious. (more…)
Lillehammer, Norway– Birkebeinerrennet, the famous cross country skiing marathon in Norway, has integrated FinishLynx photo finish technology into the event’s sophisticated results system. The annual event is one of the oldest and most challenging races in the Worldloppet Federation. The 2013 event was held on March 13th and featured 16,500 of the world’s finest Nordic skiers. The Birkebeinerrennet course begins in Rena, Norway and continues 65 grueling kilometers (40.38 miles) to Lillehammer. (more…)
